


Poorly Boy.

by CptnMatthewCrawley



Category: Wreckers (2011)
Genre: Exhaustion, F/M, Gen, Influenza, Sickfic, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:27:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 8,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29225460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CptnMatthewCrawley/pseuds/CptnMatthewCrawley
Summary: David gets sick and dawn nurses him back to health.
Relationships: David Johnson/Dawn Johnson





	1. Sick day 1.

Dawn's eyes snapped open hearing feet in the bathroom and then the sound of violent retching as if sensing David's absence beside her she got up and went to help her obviously ailing husband as she opened the door to the bathroom she felt her heart clench painfully David was on his knees in front of the toilet his hands gripping so tight that his knuckles were white.

"Oh David it's okay I'm here it's okay it's alright just breathe just breathe that's it nice and slowly that's it well done just get it out I know it doesn't feel nice but it has to come out no don't apologize it's not your fault it's okay." Dawn soothed rubbing David's back through his sweaty t shirt in comforting circles.

Eventually David stopped being sick and was reduced to dry heaving instead which made him cry more as the force of the heaves pulled on his sore stomach muscles, his chest was hurting from forcing air in and out as he threw up but gradually he started to calm down and eventually collapsed back against Dawn who helped him off with his shirt to try and help him cool down.

"Your red hot babe do you think you can make it back to bed you really need some more sleep it's only 0430 my love?." Dawn asked and David shrugged he felt okay sat on the floor but he didn't know if he could trust himself to move just yet he still felt queasy and his mouth had a disgusting feel and taste which wasn't helping the nausea at all.

"Here let's stand up and you can clean your teeth that might help you feel a bit better?." Dawn said softly and eased David upright before helping him to stand his legs were pretty wobbly but he managed to clean his teeth and have a few sips of water.

"My poorly bug." Dawn said quietly as they headed slowly back to bed after tucking David in and placing a bucket beside him on the floor Dawn went to check on Ben she need not have worried their son was still fast asleep completely undisturbed by his father's illness.

Returning to their room Dawn found David had fallen back asleep and she smiled as she got back into bed and flicked off her lamp leaning across she kissed David's cheek.

"Night Dave I love you." She whispered and settled down and soon fell asleep herself once more.


	2. Sick at school.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David comes down with a cold during exams at school.

David Johnson was not doing well it was Friday afternoon and he was struggling to keep his noisy class of year nines under control as they prepared for their upcoming mock sats exams the following week, his throat was burning and his eyes streamed almost constantly and he was burning up he sat down at his desk resting his head onto bent arms with a sigh which sounded more like a groan then looked up as he heard something being placed onto his desk beside his head a bottle of cold water from the vending machine along the corridor had been placed there along with a packet of salted crackers looking up he saw Lucy Atkins one of his nicer year nines return to her seat and get on with her work, he sighed and cracked open the water taking a few welcome sips of the cool liquid and managed to stand up and finish the lesson.

After dismissing the class David headed downstairs to the office he shared with others in his department and announced he was going home he was met with no question or resistance when the others saw how poorly he was looking his voice was barely more than a whisper.

As he drove home twenty minutes later he knew he would be told to go to bed when he got there Dawn could be quite tough when he needed her to be and when he was ill was one of those times 

As he pulled up outside the house he saw Dawn inside chopping carrots for dinner and he groaned loudly as his stomach protested against the idea of food the crackers he had eaten feeling like lead weights in there, he walked up to the door and opened it stumbling slightly as he did so but welcoming the warmth from within he was shivering again as he kicked off his shoes and unzipped his coat yanking it off and hanging it up haphazardly onto its normal peg before heading into the kitchen to find Dawn.

" Sit down you look terrible I knew you shouldn't have gone in today after you didn't have anything to eat this morning and barely touched your tea." Dawn said turning to face him as David sat down at the table his limbs suddenly feeling twice as heavy.

"I know I'm sorry I didn't listen to you I feel terrible Dawn please help me." David whimpered his voice coming out as a painful sounding croak, Dawn sighed and put the palm of her hand against his forehead, "well you've definitely still got a temperature and I can tell by your eyes that you've a pretty bad headache as well you know what I'm going to say to bed with you and I'll bring you some lemsip up in a few minutes have a shower and get snug " she said and David simply nodded feeling too ill to argue and dragged himself away upstairs, after a short hot shower which did help a little bit David dug out his don't mess with me I'm poorly pajamas and crawled into bed he smiled when dawn appeared carrying a tray with a mug of lemsip a bowl of cool water and a bottle of stomach relaxer.

Sitting up against his pillows David accepted the mug of lemon drink doctored with just the right amount of honey to sweeten it and to help soothe his raw throat.

As he sipped the drink Dawn gently bathed his sweaty forehead and cheeks with a soft cloth she had dipped in the bowl of water as the paracetamol in the drink began to take effect David began to struggle to keep his eyes open and began to drift off to sleep.

Taking the almost empty mug out of his slackening grip Dawn tucked the covers around David and kissed him on his now slightly cooler forehead before getting to her feet and leaving the room the bottle of stomach relaxer on his bedside table should he need it and headed back downstairs to finish making the stew she had been making all afternoon.

Deciding David probably wouldn't be up to eating the rich gravy meal Dawn kept enough for herself and put the rest into a container to go into the freezer once it had cooled down enough and got out a tin of spaghetti shapes and two pieces of bread incase David was hungry later but she wasn't expecting him to be he had a nasty cold and didn't look well at all.

After finishing her dinner and washing up Dawn padded upstairs to check on David it had been a good few hours since he got home and he needed to be waking up if he wanted to be able to sleep that night.

David was sat up quietly watching TV in their bedroom he was pale but flushed from the heat of his temperature he looked miserable and Dawn took pity on him when he saw her watching him and held out a arm for a cuddle.

After a few minutes of cuddles and soft strokes of his hair David ruined the moment by coughing loudly into the crook of his elbow the cough sounded horrible and congested and Dawn patted his back and handed him tissues when he was done taking then she dropped them into the bin she had placed beside the bed earlier.

"Sorry that was gross I really don't feel good Dawn my throat hurts and I feel sick from blowing my nose so much my head is thumping and I feel dizzy when I try to stand up." David croaked and Dawn winced in sympathy.

"Can you help me to the toilet I've been desperate for a while but I didn't want to try and make it on my own?." He asked and Dawn nodded.

Ten minutes later back in bed after a okay trip down to the bathroom and back David was asleep again the strength needed to stand up to pee had sapped the last of his remaining energy and he was exhausted.

As she tucked him into bed once more Dawn decided to call the out of hours surgery to see what advice they could give as David clearly wasn't well and it was definitely more than a simple heavy cold.

The duty doctor offered to come out and check David over and half an hour later he arrived as they headed upstairs David had woken up and was sipping his water waiting for them his cheeks were flushed and his forehead had hair sticking to it from the sweat building there.

Using a ear thermometer the doctor took David's temperature which was 38.7 not dangerously high but not good either he also had a listen to his chest and a feel of his tummy after David mentioned that he felt nauseous.

"Influenza I've seen quite a few cases so far today but you are definitely the most poorly case I've seen I'll write you a prescription for some strong cough syrup with codiene and make sure you keep drinking nothing milky though and nothing solid to eat for now best way to treat this is to starve the bug but fees the fever now I know this will seem like a odd question but when you went to the toilet just now was it normal it didn't sting or burn?." The doctor asked and David shook his head.

"No but I was quite wobbly getting there and back Dawn had to help me." He admitted covering his mouth to cough.

The doctor nodded and David snuggled down deeper into the duvet he was getting sleepy again and the doctor said his goodbyes and Dawn showed him back downstairs to the front door.

"Thank you for coming out and thank you for this." Dawn said waving the prescription as the doctor left the house and headed to his car.

The next morning David woke up feeling rough as sandpaper his throat stung when he swallowed and he knew he was burning up again he swallowed a dose of paracetamol even though the pills made his throat hurt worse and waited for Dawn to return with his cough medicine.

The cough medicine tasted disgusting it was supposed to be cherry flavour but tasted about as far from cherry as he had ever known he gagged as he swallowed it but the relief it provided was almost instant as he fell asleep again David reached out to Dawn and she smiled before gathering David into her arms and laying with him while he slept.

David looked so innocent while he slept and Dawn watched him sleep seeing his eyes flickering behind his eyelids as he dreamed he hadn't had the best childhood his parents hadn't been the nicest people and his brother Nick was away with the army.

David hardly spoke of his parents because when he did he got very angry and upset because there had been violence of a physical and sexual nature and as a result David had been told he was sterile and would never be able to have children.

Dawn had been upset but had accepted it because she loved him and had even suggested adoption but David had been angry and had asked her why she loved him when all he was was a broken human with a broken body.


	3. Tears.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn comes home to David crying in the bathtub.

Dawn opened the front door then winced as it banged shut behind her the weather was foul that day and she had gotten drenched walking from the bus stop home hearing music coming from upstairs she removed her sodden jacket and shoes and made her way up to see what David was up to what she found made her heart ache David was sat in the bath knees drawn up to his chest blood smeared on the side of the bath and running in trickles from a cut above his left eyebrow his cheek was grazed and his hands were a mess of scratches and grazes he was shivering and it was then that Dawn saw the dark tracks on David's jeans and she sighed.

"David baby what happened darling talk to me sweetheart did something happen at school it's not that girl you told me about is it?." She asked and gasped when David nodded 

"She killed herself." He mumbled and hid his face in his knees as more tears flowed from his eyes 

"Katherine her name was Katherine she was fifteen years old and she killed herself she overdosed at school I found her I had to tell her parents and her dad he went mental I had to defend myself I've been suspended pending a internal investigation." David said his voice choked with tears.

"Oh baby shhh it's okay come on let's get you cleaned up yeah that will help you feel a bit better won't it." Dawn said reaching out to stroke David's hair comfortingly as she spoke.

"How it's my fault I didn't act sooner after all that stuff with Nick when we were kids and the social came sniffing round here took Nick away tried to take me too but I was in the middle of my exams so I couldn't leave too I haven't thought much about it until now after having Katherine's Dad attack me for not doing more to protect his daughter from the bullies who drove her to her death." David sobbed and Dawn felt her heart ache for her beaten down and terrified man.

"Come on let's get you cleaned up then I'll phone Sandra and see what she has to say about this there has to be something she can do to help you to protect you from the harm that this could do to you." Dawn said forgetting all about wanting to try for a baby at that moment she just wanted to make her suffering husband smile again even if it was only briefly.

David slowly climbed out of the bath and Dawn helped him remove his soaked jeans as the damp material came away from his legs David hissed slightly from the chill in the late September afternoon air and Dawn switched on the shower turning it to as hot a temperature as David would be able to stand and once he had removed his t shirt and boxer shorts she joined him under the gently steaming spray he winced when shampoo stung the cuts on his face and head but remained silent as she worked to clean him up washing each part of him with the gentle ease and love of a mother, reminding him of the times she had taken care of Alex his two year old godson the only child of his best friend Gary and his wife Sharon.

Gary had been part of the reason Nick had been taken away from their family and placed into foster care Gary had sexually abused Nick and even David at one point but that was in the past now even after Nick had come back to try and settle old scores with Gary for having him taken away and making him leave David behind.

As Dawn switched off the shower and wrapped a soft blue towel around him like a mother would her son David broke down into fresh tears he had never had that not with his mother she had always been hard on him from a very early age and as for his father he wouldn't have known how to love if it had bitten him on the nose.

Wrapping her own pink towel around herself Dawn gathered David into her arms and held him tightly rubbing his back as his tears mingled with the water from the shower on her neck and shoulder.

"I'm sorry I'm so sorry." David cried his sobs becoming more violent and he started to shake in Dawn's arms she held him tighter against her and whispered softly in his ear how much she loved him hoping it would be enough to bring him out of this more severe meltdown.

An hour later David was asleep in bed his hands bandaged and he had taken a dose of his medication to help him feel better Dawn watched him sleep for a bit longer then went to phone Sandra David's rep from the union of teachers and lecturers in their nearby town.

Sandra made a arrangement to come and speak to David the following week and Dawn thanked her for being so kind and understanding and rang off as she placed the phone back onto the cradle it began to ring it was David's head of department phoning to check how he was and Dawn told him David was asleep after having had a severe emotional meltdown.

Two hours later the doorbell rang and Dawn opened it to find Gary and Sharon stood there with baby Alex in the buggy she stared at them not really understanding why they were there then she remembered it was their anniversary and she had agreed to look after Alex while they went out for dinner.

"Dawn what is it what's happened where's David?." Sharon asked and Dawn simply shook her head and pointed above their heads making the sign of sleeping and Sharon nodded "we don't have to go out tonight we can leave it and go out another night can't we Gaz?." She asked and Gary nodded he had heard through the village grapevine about Katherine and what had happened to David in the school carpark that afternoon.

After they had gone Dawn dashed back upstairs to check on David she need not have worried he was still fast asleep in bed he had moved slightly but that was all and she breathed a sigh of relief hopefully he would wake up feeling a bit better and he might even feel hungry enough to eat something.


	4. Sleepy boy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben decides he wants s day at home with David lots of cuddles ensue .

Ben climbed into bed and snuggled up beside David his little arms wrapped around his sleeping Daddy he loved David even though he was Nick's son Nick had provided the sperm to produce Ben and some was still frozen in the bank for a later time should David and Dawn want another child David had been left sterile after a very violent attack by his father he hadn't known the extent of the damage until his previous girlfriend had asked if they could have a baby and he had been unable to get her pregnant.

Dawn had been sad for him when he told her what had happened to him at the hands of his father and the horrible beating he had received following being found helping Nick with his homework and not doing his chores.

David wrapped his arms around Ben and held him close the little boy really was a Daddy's boy had been since he was born and David loved the bond that was between them and loved having Ben close by to him when he wasn't feeling his best mentally or physically.


	5. Insomnia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David can't sleep.

David lay awake staring at the ceiling as Dawn slept soundly beside him Ben nestled between them their elder son Luke was asleep in his bedroom along the corridor they were in France at David's favourite farmhouse rented from friends of theirs for a month giving up on the hope of anymore sleep David got up and headed downstairs to get a glass of water.

On his way past Luke's room David heard soft muffled sobbing and paused mid stride before stepping quietly into the softly lit room Luke was sat up knees against his chest and his shoulders were shaking as he sobbed.

"Lukey oh bubba what's the matter did you have a bad dream?." David asked sitting down on Luke's bed and holding out his arms to his clearly very upset elder son.

Luke didn't move then suddenly launched himself into David's arms burying his face into David's chest 

"It's okay I'm here now daddy's got you shhh sweetheart it's okay Lukey shhh." David soothed rubbing Luke's back in soothing circles as he spoke.

"Shall we go and get you some warm milk that's always helped me after bad dreams then we will have a little conversation until we are sleepy." David said and Luke simply clung to David like a limpet so David carried him out of the room and downstairs to get some milk.

Instead of a glass or China cup David poured the warm milk into one of Ben's spare sippy cups and secured the lid Luke might have been four years old to Ben's three but Luke still was a little baby at heart and he immediately began to suck on the beaker the warm sweetened with honey milk flowing over his tongue providing comfort and security to the little boy after finishing his own cup of milk David gathered Luke back into his arms and carried him back upstairs Luke was asleep by the time they reached his bedroom and David laid him down into bed tucking the covers back around his softly slumbering form.

David kissed Luke softly on the forehead before heading back to bed himself and snuggling close to Dawn who was now alone Ben was back in his own bed sound asleep.

David closed his eyes and was soon snoring softly once more he woke up a few hours later to find himself alone in bed a note on Dawn's pillow explained she had taken the boys to the beach and to come and find them there when he woke.

Kicking off his sandals as he stepped onto the soft sand David lifted his rucksack onto his shoulder and then he spotted them or rather Luke spotted him and ran towards him arms outstretched 

"Daddy daddy." The little boy called and David smiled the first genuine happy smile he had in months as Luke reached him David crouched down and embraced his eldest son then waved to Dawn who was stood by their beach encampment Ben in her arms waiting for them for the first time in months David finally felt able to enjoy himself and to play properly with his children after months of worry for Dawn she could finally see her old husband shining through as David helped Luke build an amazing castle complete with a moute and drawbridge before heading for a refreshing swim in the sea.

" Daddy I need a wee." Luke said as they splashed around David glanced at Dawn who shrugged and then nodded.

"If you go out a bit deeper you can do it here in the sea that's fine go ahead." David said and watched as Luke waded a bit further out then crouched down to wee pulling the front of his trunks down as he did so as the wee flowed out making the water surrounding him warm Luke smiled he hadn't been to the toilet that morning so he was quite full and desperate once he was finished he swam back to his parents.

"Better ?." David asked and Luke nodded before splashing him and racing off giggles echoing across the quiet beach.


	6. Bad Day part 1.

Dawn opened the front door to be greeted with the scent of cinnamon and allspice wafting from the kitchen taking off her coat and work shoes she padded along the hall and into the kitchen on the cooker top sat a cooling rack with where those cinnamon rolls cracking a smile Dawn approached and sniffed the air feeling herself begin to salivate David must have been baking as the oven was still on with cookies baking in it she smiled and went to find her husband she needed a cuddle her day hadn't been the best that day she had overslept that morning and been late for the morning staff meeting and that had set the day on a bad spiral from there, heading outside in her socks she headed towards the shed that served as David's home office and tutoring room she smiled at the young boy who was sat listening to David as he worked through some algebra equations with the youngster.

"Let's finish there for today Christopher and I will see you at the same time next week." David said seeing the look on Dawn's face she was exhausted he could tell and something had to have happened at school to make her look so sad and beaten down.

After Christopher had gone home David closed up his office and they headed back into the main house together and David tried to coax what had happened out of his close to tears wife.

"Oh baby come here I'm sorry you had such a rubbish day but you're home now and I know some cookies and warm milk will soon have you smiling again and Luke is out for the night but Ben was brought back about an hour ago he's asleep upstairs he had a bit of a temperature while at Charlie's so Charlie's mum brought him home he's had some medicine and has been out of it since he's been home." David explained and dawn nodded glad Luke was out for the night before having her cookies and milk Dawn went to check on poorly Ben who was snuggled down into his blankets and pillows snoring softly his comfort blanket held safe in his arms.

"Poor thing he's really wiped isn't he I thought he wasn't right this morning when he went off with Josh." Dawn said and David sighed "you weren't to know he was sickening he just wanted me when he got home." He said softly and led Dawn back downstairs to the warm kitchen.

David poured some milk into a cup and put it into the microwave for a short time meanwhile he sliced one of the cinnamon rolls and buttered it passing one half to Dawn who accepted it and munched on it cinnamon rolls were a speciality of David's.


	7. Bad Day part 2.

The calm was soon shattered by the cries of their poorly youngest son and David headed upstairs to check on him finding him sat up in bed sick in his lap contained by his blankets and tears streaming down his pale cheeks, "oh Benji Ben it's okay I'm here now let's get you cleaned up and have some more medicine alright it's alright come on that's it I've got you." David whispered softly as he carried him to the bathroom to clean him up and give him another dose of Calpol. Dawn came up and stripped Ben's bed replacing the sheets with fresh clean ones and took the soiled ones downstairs putting them on a hot wash to remove the smell of sick from them.

After his bath and a dose of medicine Ben was soon asleep again cuddled up to David on the sofa his head resting on David's chest as he breathed you could hear the slight congestion building in his nose a sign that he had a horrible cold.

David looked up at Dawn with a soft smile on his face and stroked his hand through Ben's blond hair as the little boy lay sound asleep against his chest suddenly the door slammed shut and there was the sound of feet thundering upstairs and a door banged shut somewhere above them it would appear Luke had come home earlier than expected.

Luke was devastated and didn't respond when Dawn knocked on his door twenty minutes after he got home Daniel had been horrible that day and then he'd hurt him that evening and laughed at the pain of his best friend at his hands.


	8. Lukey.

After tucking Ben into bed David went to check on Luke and what he found made his heart break Luke was curled up in a tight ball on his bed his face buried in his comfort blanket and he was sobbing clearly something bad had happened that night to make him come home in such a state Daniel was one of Luke's best friends wasn't he they had been best friends since primary school.

As though he could sense David's presence in his room Luke sat up and held out his arms for a cuddle with David who sat down on the edge of Luke's bed and gathered the still sniffling thirteen year old into his arms rubbing Luke's back as he did so.

"He hurt me Daddy he hurt me he said it was a game but that the rules were that I wasn't to scream as it was important to stay quiet otherwise there would be trouble." Luke said and David swallowed hard only able to guess what had happened but he hoped he was wrong what Luke said next made David's blood run ice cold and he shivered violently as he held Luke his brave little innocent Lukey in his arms.

"Dan he he he r r raped me Daddy and it hurt it hurt a lot and I cried and he laughed and called me a poof and said I was soft in the head for crying and that I'd done it before and I was a bender and easy and a slut and.. " Luke's voice cracked and he burst into a round of fresh tears.

"Oh bubba shhh it's okay I'm here I've got you you're safe here with me and with mummy and Benji." David soothed feeling his chest constict with pure rage but he held it in until Luke had fallen asleep and David tucked him into bed before going to find Dawn to tell her what had happened to Luke.

The next morning David woke early and went for a run he hadn't done that since before Ben was born as he hadn't felt fit enough but he needed it and it helped him to let go of some of the anger he felt towards Dan Luke's soon to be ex best friend.

When he got home David found Dawn making cinnamon waffles and wrapped his arms around her Dawn wrinkled her nose and swatted him away sending him to have a shower and shave as he drank he made his way upstairs quietly so as not to disturb the boys and headed into the bathroom switching on the shower he waited for it to heat up before stripping off and stepping under the gently steaming spray as he washed his hair David thought about Luke and how they would tackle the subject of what should happen to Dan.

Luke was sat in the kitchen munching on a thickly buttered waffle when David reappeared downstairs dressed in jeans and one of his butter soft jumpers with elbow patches on over his blue polo shirt he seemed to favour as of late.

"Morning Lukey how you feeling this morning don't worry about School I've already phoned you in sick today so when you've eaten you can head back to bed Ben won't be going to nursery today he's not well either and I'm not working so I can look after you both while mummy is at work today." David said and Luke nodded with no sign of an argument.


	9. Tears.

David lay awake staring at the time on his bedside alarm clock watching the numbers get bigger tears flowed from his eyes and his head thumped painfully he had been crying on and off all evening since the news had come through that his brother had been found dead in his bed in Afghanistan where he was away serving with the army, Nick it had been said had died of natural causes but David knew better David knew Nick had taken his own life he'd been sent back too early after coming home on leave with severe PTSD symptoms and was having successful treatment before he was sent back onto active duty too soon.

Dawn was curled up beside David fast asleep lost in a welcome mass of dreams in the end David got up and went to check on both Luke and Ben he found Ben with his covers kicked most of the way off and he gently replaced them so as not to wake Ben and cause a meltdown especially with it being so early then he headed downstairs and turned the television on quietly settling on the sofa with a blanket and a cup of warm milk and honey hoping that the milk would help him fall asleep for a little while at least.

Dawn found him there at just gone six am when she got up to take Dolly their labradoodle who was asleep with David for her morning walk before the day got started.

Leaving David asleep on the sofa having seen the dark circles under his eyes Dawn headed out to walk Dolly when she returned back an hour later both Luke and Ben were eating breakfast and David was sipping coffee looking exhausted but at least he was awake and dressed.

"Morning guys did Daddy sort breakfast for you today?." She asked as she unclipped Dolly's lead and the dog went to greet both of the boys in her usual manner before lying down in her bed.

David stood up from the table and headed upstairs he needed to phone Nick's regiment and find out how to contact his wife Amanda and their son Felix his nephew who was planning to follow his Dad into the army.

After speaking to Amanda who seemed to be pretty strong David felt a bit better but he still didn't want to go to work that day and he phoned in sick sending work in with Luke who promised to drop it off on his way to registration.

David took Ben to school and stood quietly in the playground avoiding the stares of the other parents he didn't want their sympathy not yet not until they knew the real story about what had happened to his brother to cause him to take his own life.

Nick had been abused that was the truth of it badly abused both physically and sexually by their father David had tried to protect him but he had also been abused but not to the same extent as Nick had been.

David Johnson stood up at the front of the packed church and delivered a speech about Nick that had everyone there in tears he did his brother proud and as he stepped down he was embraced by his family Ben hugged him tightly his face hidden in David's neck and Luke linked his hand with one of David's holding on tightly while dawn just held him tightly kissing his cheek she was so proud of David for being so brave after everything that had happened since the death of Nick.

Amanda had moved away soon after Nick had been brought home she couldn't deal with what had happened in Nick's childhood to cause him to take his own life and she didn't want their child to suffer the consequences of what had been done to their Dad.

Felix meanwhile was away at school he'd been sent away by his mother because he reminded her too much of his father and she couldn't cope with the grief.

One night about four months after Nick died David had a call from Felix's school to say that they couldn't contact his mother and that Felix was in the school infirmary with a temperature and it was looking like he had contracted glandular fever and would David be able to come and fetch him and take him home.

Amanda was found dead three days later in one of the outbuildings on the farm where she had lived with Nick leaving fourteen year old Felix as a orphan, without hesitation David became Felix's guardian and brought him home and enrolled him into the local comprehensive, Dawn became more of a mother to Felix than Amanda had ever been and it soon became clear that something bad had been going on at Felix's boarding school.

Felix took his time to settle into life with David Dawn and the boys and he spent a lot of time in his room drawing a lot and one day David took a look at some of the pictures and discovered just how deep the scars of what had happened to his parents ran inside of his nephew.

After Ben and Luke were in bed David went to find Felix and found him cutting himself in his room his arms were a mess of both healing and fresh cuts he fetched the first aid kit without a word and cleaned and dressed the cuts before giving Felix a big hug and letting him know he wasn't on his own anymore.

"I love you my brave brave boy I know nothing seems clear right now but always remember that I love you Dawn loves you and so do Ben and Luke." David whispered as he held Felix in his arms and kissed the top of his head.

Two weeks later David watched as Felix kicked a football around in the park with Luke and Ben was on the swings Ben had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was four years old and the little eight year old lived in his own silent world a lot of the time he did speak but it was very sparodic and stilted when he did speak.

David watched Luke and Felix for a few more minutes then he heard a loud cry and turned to see two boys pushing Ben onto the ground before starting to kick and punch him laughing as Ben tried to defend himself.

"Hey leave him alone get off him go pick on someone else leave our brother alone." David heard Luke shout catching his eye and David nodded before approaching.

"What's going on here?." He asked sharply and the two boys sprang away from Ben before running off having recognized David as one of the teachers from their school

David knelt down beside Ben and lifted him into his arms rocking his distraught and hurting son and carried Ben back to the car while Luke wheeled his scooter luckily Ben was wearing his padded helmet so his head had been protected.

As they headed home in the car Ben was still crying tears stinging the cuts on his face and he was sucking his thumb for comfort.

David carried Ben into the house when they got home and into the kitchen sitting him on the worktop by the sink and running some cold water onto a clean cloth to bathe the grazes on his cheeks and hands meanwhile Luke and Felix had gone upstairs to play on Felix's X box he'd got for his birthday.

Dawn was out feeding the chickens and hadn't heard them come home and she was worried when she saw David cleaning up Ben's battered face.

"What happened?." She asked and David explained about the boys who had attacked Ben in the park.


	10. Summer holiday part 1.

David whistled happily as he locked the car and approached the front door it was the last day of term six weeks of long lazy days stretched ahead of him and his family they were heading to his family apartment in the south of France for ten days Ben and Luke were excited to be spending time in another country even if it was only France.

David unlocked the door and stepped inside hearing music coming from upstairs and Felix's head appeared over the banister with a smile on his lips.

"Hey how was your day?." He called turning the music off and coming down the stairs to give David a hug.

"Loud busy and too long is Mum home yet?." David asked gratefully accepting the hug from Felix just as he spoke Dawn appeared and smiled at them she explained that Luke and Ben were both out for pizza with friends to celebrate the last day of term before the summer holidays they had a month of southern French sun coming their way and Dawn was looking forward to the break away from cold weather.

David let go of Felix and gave Dawn a hug she had been packing clothes for both Ben and Luke and said that there would be some bedroom tidying to be done that weekend before they left for France on Monday, luckily Felix was a tidy kid so his room was always immaculately tidy.

David was watching friends when Luke and Ben got home he smiled at them both Ben had more pizza round his mouth and on his shirt than had got into his mouth it would seem and that made David chuckle.

"Enjoy your pizza?." He asked grabbing a couple of wipes from the packet to clean Ben's face and the little boy frowned and tears formed in his eyes David sighed and after throwing the wipes away gathered Ben into his arms giving him a secure hug.

"Daddy's sorry your feeling tired little one but he had to clean your face it can't have been nice with tomato sauce round it can it now how about a bubble bath?." David asked.


	11. Home.

David unlocked the door and stepped in side trying not to wake the sleeping bundle in his arms Ben had fallen asleep on the way home from school and David hadn't had the heart to wake him Ben was pale and David was sure he was burning up as he carried Ben upstairs Luke and Felix arrived home as if they knew Ben wasn't feeling well they were quiet as they removed their coats and shoes before heading upstairs to do their homework.

David met them on the landing and told them Ben wasn't feeling well and had a headache they both nodded and decided to wear headphones while doing their homework so as not to disturb Ben and make him feel worse.

An hour later Dawn got home Ben had woken up by this time and was sat watching TV with Felix he'd had some medicine and was munching on some toast with Nutella.

"Hey my love's weres Dad and Luke?." She asked then frowned when Felix pointed upstairs and mimed being asleep Dawn padded quietly upstairs and looked for David the sight she found in Luke's room made her smile David was lying on Luke's bed with Luke asleep wrapped around him like a cat David glanced up hearing her in the doorway and gently eased himself out from under Luke before leaving the room.

"He's had a pretty bad day think his tummy hasn't been too good today he had a accident earlier so I cleaned him up and gave him some Calpol and he fell asleep giving me a cuddle he won't be going to school tomorrow that's for sure luckily it's Friday so it doesn't matter if he misses one day." David said and Dawn nodded and sighed.

"If it's not one of us it's one of them why can't any of us ever catch a break?." She asked and David shrugged.


	12. Nightmare.

"Nick no Nick Nick please I'm sorry Nick I'm Sorry no please don't." David's strangled cries echoed round the expanse of the hotel room he was sharing with Dawn the had gone away for a long weekend to celebrate their wedding anniversary leaving Felix in charge at home with Luke and Ben.

"Dave open your eyes for me sweetheart it's just a dream a bad dream you're okay your safe." Dawn whispered and she sighed hearing a knock on the door of their room getting up she went to see who it was it was the man from down the corridor coming to see if he could help he was a doctor and had his medi kit with him in his hand Dawn thanked him and led him into the room David was sat up at this point his face flushed and sweaty his hair sticking up in sweaty spikes all over his head the bald patch from his most recent surgery was more obvious as the hair was still growing back.

"Mr Johnson my name is Dr Watson Holmes I hear you're not having such a good night tonight?." John asked gently as he dug out his stethoscope and blood pressure machine to check David over Dawn shook her head "No he wasn't feeling well on the way down I had to stop a few times so he could be sick I don't know if it's because of the tumor or the stress of the treatment or if it's just David." She said tears stinging her eyes as she spoke David had been found to have a brain tumor and he had had his second surgery three months ago and didn't seem to be recovering as quickly as he had from the previous surgeries.

"I didn't mean to make such a fuss." David said and John just nodded and asked if he could listen to David's chest to assess his breathing as it still sounded congested.

David shivered as the stethoscope touched his hot back and John took his time listening to each area of David's chest before taking his blood pressure and his temperature "hmmm that's a little raised for my liking 38.4 do you feel sick at all?." John asked as he packed his things away and wrote some things down on his prescription pad before signing it and handing it to Dawn who promised to get it filled the next day.

John left them alone after watching David drink a glass of water and eat a couple of biscuits from the tray by the phone.

"I'm sorry I woke you I know you must be exhausted." David said as his eyes drifted shut once more and he fell asleep.

"I'll check in again tomorrow morning goodnight David sleep well and I hope you feel a bit better tomorrow." John said as he left and headed back to Sherlock who he knew was awake and as concerned as he was about David.


	13. Daddy's story.

David sat at his desk reading through the first chapter of the book he had decided to write in part as a lasting tribute to his brother and as a way to tell the world what life had been like before he had met Dawn and had a family he could call his own he had mixed together some of the adventures that he and Nick had shared as well as letting the world know exactly what life had been like as David Johnson the elder son and brother to Nick Johnson.

David had struggled to write the first few opening lines of the book as he had been reliving the days leading up to finding out that Nick had taken his own life while serving in Afghanistan.

David closed the laptop and hid his face into his hands as hot tears filled then leaked from his eyes he hated crying it always made him feel worse he knew it was healthy to show emotions his counselor had been trying to teach him coping strategies to help him handle his emotions without them coming out as anger aimed mostly at himself for failing as a brother to protect his own brother from their parents abuse.

Dawn was at the bottom of the stairs and could hear muffled sobbing coming from upstairs taking the stairs two at a time she appeared in the doorway of David's upstairs office and felt her heart clench seeing her strong amazing husband in pieces at his desk the soft light making his cheeks shine and sparkle were the tears were drying on them.

"Oh sweetheart." She whispered stepping into the room from the landing and wrapping her arms around David and resting her cheek against the top of his head as David's shoulders shook from the force of his tears.

"Oh baby shhh it's okay come on come here give me a cuddle shhh shhh it's okay it's okay shhh I'm here oh love." She whispered over and over again as she held David tightly in her arms trying to calm him down just then Felix appeared and seeing how upset David was offered to go and fetch him a drink of water knowing he would likely have a headache when he stopped crying.

Felix dashed back upstairs with the cup of water and found Dawn sat on the spare bed with David in her arms he had stopped crying but his head was still buried in her neck and she was stroking his back softly.


	14. Mistaken Identity.

Six months later after David had sent his book off to the publisher a skinny young man of about 34 turned up outside their house as he went out to chase them off the property the young man looked up and the colour drained out of David's face it couldn't be it had to be some kind of sick joke that his mind was playing on him but it really did look like "No No I'm going mad you're Dead your Dead we had your funeral we had your funeral." He mumbled as tears streamed from his eyes and he hid his face into his hands as his legs gave way from under him and he fell to his knees.

Nick watched his big brother as he fought against his own mind and lowered himself onto his own knees so he was at the same level as David.

"It's me Davey it's okay I'm not dead I've come home for good Davey I was hournarably discharged as of 0600 this morning I never died out there Davey they got it so wrong I was in hospital back in Kandahar on my way home to you when I was taken hostage and held against my will and made to do unspeakable things I tried to get word to you but I guess it was too late and Amanda did what she did?. How's my boy getting on?." Nick asked as he gathered David into his arms and held his brave brother tightly and smiled as he saw Dawn appear flanked by Felix Luke and Ben when Felix saw his face he dissolved into tears.

"DADDY." He shouted and rushed forward to hug Nick who let go of David with one arm to hug his now seventeen years old son.

Meanwhile Dawn just watched as father and son held tight to one another and smiled as she remembered the photo Felix had on his bedside table framed in a homemade frame decorated with different dry pasta shapes of Felix aged eleven hugging Nick before he left on one of his many deployments to Afghanistan.

Pulling out her phone Dawn took a snap of the reunion that was taking place and saved it to her memory card so she could get it printed off for Felix to keep alongside the original one.

"The lad who died who they thought was me was Andre he looked similar because he hadn't shaved for a fortnight but he wasn't me I'd already been captured when they found him dead and assumed it was me don't worry I will be getting compensation for the distress that was inflicted onto all of you as my family and I'd like to move back in of course I understand if that isn't possible." Nick said and Dawn simply just nodded.

"This is your home Nick you are always welcome here and we would love to have you back with us." Dawn said softly and nick just nodded.

Nick slowly stood up helping David onto his feet and led him slowly with Felix help back into the house and onto the sofa as he tried to step away David clung onto Nick and Dawn simply shook her head "He's a bit glad to see you isn't he?." She whispered and Nick simply nodded.


End file.
